11 men, 0 women: In this Texas county, Republican commissioners appoint only guys | Opinion

Girls Inc. of Tarrant County stands for girls’ health, education and equality.

That last part seems to be exactly what the three Republican men on the Tarrant County Commissioners’ Court stand against.

I’m not talking about the political stunt commissioners staged the other day, when they helped stoke rage among suburban Republicans to block $115,000 in state child welfare money sent to help poor, inner-city Fort Worth girls through the local Girls Inc., originally the Fort Worth Girls Club.

Look at the commissioners’ record of inequality — regardless of party or political leanings — since Jan. 1.

That’s when Southlake lawyer Tim O’Hare was sworn in as county judge and police labor leader Manny Ramirez of rural northwest Tarrant County joined Commissioner Gary Fickes of Colleyville on the court.

Since then, commissioners:

▪ Appointed O’Hare’s campaign manager, Vince Puente, to fill a county tax appraisal board vacancy left by the resignation under pressure of Kathryn Wilemon, the chairwoman.

▪ Promoted a deputy county clerk, Clinton Ludwig, to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of another man, election administrator Heider Garcia.

▪ Promoted an assistant, Chandler Merritt, to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of another man, county executive G.K. Maenius.

▪ Ended required employee anti-discrimination and anti-harassment training, which taught county workers to uphold civil rights laws protecting employment rights and fairness.

▪ Appointed or reappointed three men, Brian Hawkins, Tito Rodriguez III and Paul Slechta, to a regional transit board where women are outnumbered, 9-2.

▪ O’Hare hired Andy Nguyen to run his office, filling the vacancy left by Chelsea Griffith, the former chief of staff.

▪ O’Hare and Ramirez appointed three men, Tim Davis, Leonard Firestone and Blake Woodard, to a county hospital board where women are outnumbered, 8-3.

▪ O’Hare appointed Matt Hayes to fill in as justice of the peace in Mansfield instead of Vicki Gray, the judge’s recommendation.

Commissioners did appoint women to less visible roles on five of 20 boards.

But as far as I can find, only one woman in Tarrant County government has been found to be qualified enough to promote to a prominent position: new county auditor Kimberly M. Buchanan.

See, commissioners don’t choose the auditor. The district court judges promoted her.

With the retirement of District Attorney Sharen Wilson in favor of Phil Sorrells, and with tax assessor Wendy Burgess facing a tough March primary challenge by county Republican Party chairman Rick Barnes, the voice of women at the county courthouse may become more faint than it has been since the early 1980s.

From Congresswoman Kay Granger and Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker on down, Tarrant County is full of strong Republican women and clubs.

Hundreds of Tarrant County women have worked tirelessly their whole lives to stop abortion in Texas. Now, they’re working to keep the GOP in charge of what has usually been America’s largest reliably red county.

But in a party where one Denton County candidate, Jeff Younger, said outright last year that only “godly men” should lead, commissioners are almost exclusively hiring, promoting, appointing and supporting other men.

Now, they’ve picked on a girls’ club.

Girls Inc. of Tarrant County was founded in 1966, teaching poor or motherless girls how to cook, crochet and paint.

It was one of five local youth agencies that won state child welfare grants this year to help poor inner-city teens in four central Fort Worth ZIP codes. The agency has a strong record of success and regional corporate support.

But it’s also affiliated with a New York organization that has drifted too far from child welfare into politics, making it a target for Republican political campaigners waging a War on Wokeness.

O’Hare zeroed in on Girls Inc.’s advocacy for “menstrual equity,” a politispeak term which simply means free tampons.

Because Girls Inc. used neutral wording calling for tampons for “people who have periods,” O’Hare twisted the premise and claimed the agency is promoting transgender rights.

Gosh. That was only about free tampons.

O’Hare and other speakers like Southlake Republican activist Leigh Wambsganss picked through Girls Inc.’s local and national websites and social media and found way too many political posts and comments about abortion, race, sex, gender and the overpolicing of schools.

“I cannot vote to give taxpayer money to an organization that wants to destigmatize abortion, seems anti-police, teaches that men can have periods and thinks it’s OK for children to change their sex!” O’Hare declared.

Lured by Republican Party texts and emails calling for all-out opposition, one speaker compared Girls Inc. to Nazi Germany social programs.

Another said the county would get sued if girls cut off their breasts.

In the end, commissioners refused to pass along the state child welfare money.

Obviously Girls Inc.’s national organization has gone far outside charity work.

But for 57 years, all Girls Inc. of Tarrant County has done is help get girls safely through school and college into jobs.

The local agency doesn’t deserve to be deprived of funding based on an organized, vicious campaign of snide political attacks, twisted accusations and outright intimidation.

The Tarrant County commissioners’ court is not a girl’s best friend.